WORLD TRACK PREVIEW: BRITS ALL SET FOR MANCHESTER

The sense of anticipation surrounding the Great Britain team ahead of this week?s World Track Championships is immense.

Last year they returned from Palma de Majorca with a record haul of seven gold medals. Add to that two silvers and two bronze medals and it was, by a considerable distance, Britain?s most successful World Championship campaign.

With this year?s championships taking place on home soil in Manchester, the maelstrom of attention, better-than-ever coverage on BBC television and a pure buzz of excitement means the pressure is on the boys and girls in red, white and blue.

However, it?s necessary to temper the understandable enthusiasm with a measured note of cautious pragmatism. This is Olympic year and for the athletes with their eyes on Beijing, that?s what really matters.

As Chris Hoy put it a few weeks ago, no one will be standing on the silver or bronze medal step of the podium in Beijing fondly recalling gold in Manchester five months earlier.

That?s not to understate the importance of the World Championships, though, far from it. This is a week in which Great Britain can emphasise its position as one of ? if not the leading nation in track cycling while hinting that there will be more to come in China in the summer.

And so the selection of the British team has taken on a different complexion. All the big names are there ? bar Chris Newton who broke his collarbone in training earlier this month and so will miss his chance to repeat the points race victory he had in 2002.

WHEN ARE THE FINALS?
WEDNESDAY NIGHTMen individual pursuit
Men scratch race
Men team sprint
Women 500m TT

But away from the Olympic events, this championships is a chance to give some huge experience to some young riders. Matt Crampton, Jessica Varnish, David Daniell and Jo Rowsell are among those who will benefit from the experience of racing at World Championship level.

With an eye on the future, it?s worth bearing in mind that opportunities to expose the likely stars of the 2012 London Olympics are few and far between.

Beijing hasn?t even arrived yet and so London feels a world away, but in real terms there are only four World Cups and a World Championship each year. Top-level track racing is a world in which you get your moment and then it?s gone for weeks, possibly months, at a time. After Beijing there will be just 16 World Cups and four World Championships. Twenty shots at the big time before London?s calling.

And so this World Championships in Manchester is of huge importance to every athlete who pulls on a Great Britain skinsuit. Ticket sales have gone well but there is still a chance to witness the action in a velodrome that is at its best when full. You?ll be able to cut the atmosphere with a knife when there?s chance of a British medal.

Here, then, is Cycling Weekly?sday-by-day, event-by-event guide to the championships. We have got the likely Great Britain participants ? and there is a surprise or two ? and we?ve stuck our necks on the block to predict the likely medal haul, while trying to reign in the expectation levels a little. There?s also a run-down of every British medallist at past track World Championships and of course the television times for those who can?t be there in person.

DAY-BY-DAY PREVIEW

Every event, listed according to when the final takes place, every British rider, last year’s champions and the inside track on how the home riders are shaping up.

Wednesday
Wiggins goes for gold in the pursuit plus the men’s team sprinters take on the French
Day 1 preview

Thursday
Team pursuiters hot favourites, Romero bids to improve on silver, Pendleton and Reade defend their title
Day 2 preview

Friday
Cavendish battles in the points race, women’s team pursuiters make their international debut, Hoy goes for sprint glory
Day 3 preview

Please note, the BBC?s schedules have changed since publication of last week?s Cycling Weekly. Times below are the latest published by the BBC. Interactive coverage is available on digital and satellite television via the red button.

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